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diff --git a/faith/aristotle-unities.rst b/faith/aristotle-unities.rst index 5b30cf5..80bd7e1 100644 --- a/faith/aristotle-unities.rst +++ b/faith/aristotle-unities.rst @@ -1,24 +1,23 @@ Harry Potter and Aristotle ########################## -:date: 2018-10-07T19:54:50 -:status: draft +:date: 2018-11-15T12:56:20 :category: faith :tags: review, harryPotter Aristotle in the seventh and eighth chapter of his Poetics writes: - Now, according to our definition, Tragedy is an imitation of - an action that is complete, and whole, and of a certain - magnitude … As therefore, in the other imitative arts, the - imitation is one when the object imitated is one, so the - plot, being an imitation of an action, must imitate one - action and that a whole, the structural union of the parts - being such that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, - the whole will be disjointed and disturbed. For a thing whose - presence or absence makes no visible difference, is not an - organic part of the whole. + Now, according to our definition, Tragedy is an imitation of + an action that is complete, and whole, and of a certain + magnitude … As therefore, in the other imitative arts, the + imitation is one when the object imitated is one, so the plot, + being an imitation of an action, must imitate one action and + that a whole, the structural union of the parts being such + that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole + will be disjointed and disturbed. For a thing whose presence + or absence makes no visible difference, is not an organic part + of the whole. Based on *Poetics* many literary critics of Renaissance and Baroque developed theory of “`Classical Unities`_”, which then @@ -52,18 +51,22 @@ And yet … In the last couple of years I read many many fanfictions on the Internet. While reading one cannot ignore how few of them achieve at least resemblance of quality of the normal literary works. -Certainly, the Sturgeon’s Law, that ninety percent of -everything is crap, but there are some pieces of fanfiction which -are rather good. Therefore, when I will comment and criticize -some stories, they are usually only the best ones, where their -deficiencies makes me more disappointed, because they were so -close to be very very good. - -First problem is general to almost fanfictions longer than one +Certainly, the Sturgeon’s Law, that ninety percent of everything +is crap, applies, but there are some pieces of fanfiction which +are rather good and it is sad to see them failing. + +In the following I will not deal with the overwhelming amount of +utter crap coming from graphomaniac teenagers who have problems +with the basics of the English language and style, but with those +few pieces of writing which are worthy of consideration and where +one feels the pain of how far they reached and yet they failed to +achieve the greatness. + +First problem is common to almost all fanfictions longer than one chapter, and that is their excessive length. If somebody claims that with the Internet and its endless opportunities for self-publishing, we don’t need old publishing houses any more, -most of these stories show how in need most authors are of the +most of these stories show how most authors are in need of the second opinion of the experienced editor. It is said that half of the success of the French author Jules Verne was in his publisher and editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who forced Verne to cut his @@ -79,9 +82,12 @@ the first four years of Harry’s school, another volumes have 8 chapters, and very much unfinished third volume another 12 chapters) or “The Arithmancer” series (84 and 82 chapters covering the HP series time frame, and another 5 chapters of just -starting third volume)? Each of these books contains some -excellent parts, which are truly outstanding, but they contain -a lot of other parts. +starting third volume)? Just to emphasize, “Harry Potter and the +Philosopher’s Stone”, the book which brought Ms. Rowling to the +world-wide fame, was 17 chapters. Each of these mentioned +fanfiction books contain some excellent parts, which are truly +outstanding, but they unfortunately contain a lot of other parts +as well. My deep suspicion is that this excessive length of fanfiction novels are caused by the ease of writing in the computer age, @@ -90,13 +96,334 @@ published one chapter at time. I know that many novels in history were written in that style, when they were originally serialized, but with existence of text editors, I believe readers expect higher quality than what could be found in some originally -serialized novels (yes, Grimaud should be struck out of Three +serialized novels (yes, Grimaud should be struck out of the Three Musketeers). +Excessive length of so many novels is by far not the biggest +problem of many fanfiction stories. Of course, as you expected +(or were afraid of), I think Aristotle’s unities are something +which can help in producing better stories. + +I think we need to return to the original quotation from +Aristotle I presented above. In light of the seventeenth century +discussions and fashion, it is interesting to note, Aristotle +didn’t seem to say anything about the unity of time and place, at +least there doesn’t seem to be anything about the need for +tragedy happening in one day or just in one place (although, +technically, classical theatre with very limited stage technology +was probably not changing scenes much). It is a way about “the +object imitated is one”. Translated to the most fanfiction +stories I would say that *there should be one main story, one +main point of view*. + +Let me present here two examples of stories which I think +departed from this rule to their own detriment. Again, let me +emphasize, both of them are from the best fanfiction stories +I read anywhere, so when criticizing them, it is more from my +admiration and frustration that they were so close of being +really good. + ---- -However, excessive length of so many novels is by far not the -biggest problem of many fanfiction stories. +The first studied item is “`Strangers at Drakeshaugh`_” by +Northumbrian. He (or she?) is probably generally my most beloved +fanfiction author of all, and most of his stories are just +awesome. I have in my brain another essay about the style of +magician’s realism, which is rather strange and absolutely +awesome thing, and one of few paths which can lead fanfiction to +the levels of the generally good literature. However, there are +things lacking. First of all, this story is one of the examples +of excessive length, story could be helped by severe cutting +through it. Apparently the author was so excited by his new +family(-ies), that he spend just too much time enjoying talking +about Charltons and Potters, and the beginning of the novella +before the main story picks up is a bit boring. + +But that is a minor problem in my opinion. The worse problem is +that the author hasn’t managed to keep the story unified. +Generally the story is written from the point of view of +Jacqueline Charlton, the mother of one of two families the story +is about. They are complete Muggles (well, it is probably +a little bit more complicated, but that’s not fully revealed in +this story, and it will get even more complicated in the sequel +“`James and Me`_”) and so they at the first do not suspect +anything unusual when apparently rather well off London family of +Potters move in to their Northumbrian valley and buys a deserted +farm house (called Drakeshaugh [Drakes-hoff], hence the name of +the story). Only later they are bit surprised how strange these +strangers are: they have no electricity in their house, no TV, +but their relatives and friends are coming regularly and +obviously with ease from quite long distances all over the UK. +Moreover, the father of the Potter family, Harry, is very +secretive about his work, and only after couple of strange +slip-ups and weird statements, admits his job is covered by the +Official Secrets Act, and he is probably somehow working for +Intelligence or something. Even more interesting is that he is +somehow involved in the investigation of the nationally famous +series of brutal murders called “Werewolves murders” (all deaths +happen on full-moon), and so this story is also a bit of +a detective story. However, investigation is just in the +background and main focal point of the novella is just family +life of Charltons and Potter, and their troubles with their +children and such. + +And then suddenly during the story there are seven chapters +scattered which are from the wizards’ point of view. Some of them +are probably necessary (in the end obviously the case cannot be +truthfully explained to Muggles, so at least in this novella the +narrator never learns what actually happened, and it would be too +disappointing I guess if even reader wouldn’t learn), but some of +them seem more like the author couldn’t resist writing down an +idea even when it breaks the flow, style, and point-of-view of +the text. One of the Aurors, who is a passionate lover of the +Goth subculture (or punk, I don’t understand these enough to be +able to distinguish), is killed in the action. During her funeral +where most Muggle participants are dressed so extravagant, that +wizards and witches are conspicuous by their normality, she +arrives as ghost to the surprise of few Muggles who could see +her. A lovely one-shot story, which would work very well on its +own, doesn’t seem to have any reason to exist as a part of +“Strangers”. + +There is another from-wizards-point-of-view chapter (surprisingly +narrated by a Muggle policewoman who however works as part of the +Auror unit as a Muggle Liaison Officer), which suggests it would +be probably possible to write whole novella at least partially as +two interwoven stories narrated by two ladies, one from the +Muggle, other from the wizarding world point of view. It could +probably work, and Northumbrian have already written this type of +story narrated from two interwoven points of view (“Hunters and +Prey”, one of the best stories he wrote), but it doesn’t happen +here, and instead of creating some new structure, these chapters +just break up unity of the main story. + +---- + +The second story which suffers from this disease of not keeping +unity is also otherwise really good story, already mentioned +above, “`The Accidental Animagus`_” by White Squirrel (according +to “`PotterFixWeekly`_” it is him). It is strictly speaking +alternative universe story, but it generally loosely follows +Harry Potter books. Abused five year old Harry just couldn’t take +it any more, and when Vernon Dursley actually beats him (up to +that point he usually had left any physical violence for Dudley +to administer), Harry runs away using accidental magic. However, +he not only switches off lights and destroys all obstacles which +stand in his way (starting with the door to his broom cupboard), +but also unlocks his ability to be animagus cat, and spends next +two months as a small kitten wandering through Southern England. +The weather is getting cold, too close to winter to make life +outdoors comfortable, so he starts to look for a family, which +would take him in. And one day, still as a kitten, he finds house +in a garden, where a girl of his age with brown bushy hair sits +on a bench reading a book. She smells somehow nice to him (we +later learn, that cats can smell magic), so he tries to be +friendly with her. When she asks him what’s his name, he changes +into a small boy to answer her, and hilarity ensues. Grangers +decide (even knowing he might be pursued by bad wizards) to adopt +him, and so he grows up in a nice loving family with super-smart +albeit a bit bossy sister (one small difference from the canon is +that they also train in karate since age of six, so this Hermione +is actually physically very fit and later plays as a substitute +Chaser for Gryffindor). + +.. _`PotterFixWeekly`: + http://potterficweekly.com/archives/1813 + +There are many things in this story, which are very good. This is +one of stories, which try to avoid people behaving like idiots +just to keep plot going (which unfortunately happened even to Ms. +Rowling), and most of the time it manages to do so. Of course, +people do mistakes and behave in anger, but for example, Harry +& co. just don’t run to the midnight duel provoked by Draco +Malfoy, because that would be silly. Even though story (with some +exceptions) more or less loosely follows the main plot points of +the Harry Potter books, the author managed to make people +actually communicate and not behaving that much irrationally. + +The main deviation from the Harry Potter books is in the third +year. Given that Harry is a cat animagus, it is not that much +surprise, he discovers in his first year just after few weeks of +living together with Ron in one dormitory, that his rat is an +animagus and catches him. Great Wizengamot hearing follows, where +Sirius Black is acquitted and Peter Pettigrew is to every +reader’s satisfaction sent to Azkaban for life. This happens in +fan fiction stories quite often (because everybody hates Peter +Pettigrew so much), but usually it leads to bizarre convoluted +stories which don’t make much sense. Special trouble is usually +the third volume, which is obviously all about catching Sirius +Black, but here the author found a good solution (and as usual, +the originally story is always better than justtt rewritten +canon). He just dropped that theme altogether and created his own +story: Fenrir Greyback invades England (he was hiding somewhere +in Eastern Europe before) and with his pack of werevolves +terrorizes both Muggle and wizarding world. In the same time +Wizengamot discusses controversial law on the control of +werevolves drafted by Dolores Umbridge, and we all can imagine +just how horrible it was. The whole school year ends in the +double-ending: brutal battle with the pack of thirteen werevolves +in the Hufflepuff Common Room (which as everybody knows has so +laughable protection that even transformed werewolf can get +through it), and political battle in Wizengamot to push through +law providing legal protection for werevolves. Probably, because +the author wrote his own story and he didn’t have to write into +the plot made up by Ms. Rowling, this third year is probably best +written year of all covered Harry’s years. + +Another temptation avoided by the author, which could end very +poorly (and yet I have read stories like that) is that it turns +out membership in Wizengamot is hereditary and Harry is the head +of the Potter’s noble family. There are two sides of this idea. +When thinking about possible political organization of the small +community living in hiding for centuries, it is quite possible +that some kind of parliament (local council) with seats at least +partially hereditary could happen. That’s from the +theoretical/sociological point of view. However, from the +fanficiton author point of view, everybody who tried to dabble in +the Lord Potter and Lord Malfoy usually ended up with disaster. +Original books by Ms. Rowling are very much middle-class in their +nature, and all attempts to spread too much of nobility, Lords +and Ladies, duels, arranged marriages, could very easily lead to +completely destroying the atmosphere of the original books [#]_. +Even here White Squirrel managed to tone this down and make all +business with students as nobles believable. However, the author +stresses strongly on the idea of small size of the wizarding +community in England (just ten thousand, even less than what’s +assumed by the fanfiction essays I found on the topic), and the +result protects enough Gemütlichkeit to be still more +bourgeois than feudal. + +.. [#] “`Royal Ward`_” by Catstaff comes to mind, it can be + accepted only if it was meant to be a parody, but for that it + seems to be running little bit long (again, 53 chapters); its prequel + “`Hatal Fart Attack`_” by Corwalch is however a true parody + and a real piece of beauty. + +.. _`Royal Ward`: + https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10556030/ + +.. _`Hatal Fart Attack`: + https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2814791/ + +Another important trait of the story is that the author has +tendency to include wizarding politics, and he does a very good +job with that. It makes the whole universe a way more logical and +rational. Also, it tries really hard to embed magical world in +the real world history, so Mr. Granger celebrates when Mikhail +Gorbachev abdicates (and he is told that there is a Konstantin +Jugashvili, the Dark Lord of Leningrad, who stood behind the +Soviet power). Mr. John Major has one small role in the story to +play (and putting completely incompetent Minister Fudge in line), +although they miss that The Gulf War started during their first +visit to the Diagon Alley. Also, one of the large subplots +relates to the 1994 Rwanda genocide (which was caused in reality +by the Dark Lord Kinani Ngeze and his nundu). Related to that is +the author includes also international point of view, which is +very nice, because the wizarding world of the Harry Potter +universe is usually horribly English-centric and ignorant of the +world around. + +One tiny complaint to the general feeling of the book. English +are really more reserved than your average American (Australian, +I don’t know where the author is from). Their stiff upper lip may +be not that stiff lately as it used to be, but still this story +seems to me to have just too much hugging, crying, sniffling into +another’s arms, etc. And yes, I can happily imagine, that after +Harry had his emotional moment with Snape (after returning from +the Heavenly Heathrow), he could kill the pathos by delivering +the message from his father. That’d exactly fit. There is +a possibility Snape would kill Harry, but most likely he would +feel the duty of every Englishman to accept a joke (even when he +doesn’t), and he would just laugh it out. + +I have already mentioned, that it very much not succeeded in the +“brevity is a sister of talent” department. I would blame +serialized writing of the story, but sometimes it feels like +author tried couple of times to achieve some idea, or sometimes +perhaps he just started subplot which didn’t lead anywhere so it +just stands there alone (Harry meets Dudley in an amusement park, +just what purpose that chapter was meant to serve?). + +Much bigger problem in my opinion is that again the author didn’t +manage to keep focus on his main story. Until the end of the +first or second year the story is clearly rewrite of the Harry +Potter books with some special additions. The main hero is Harry, +and although Hermione is certainly a way more important than in +the canonical books, still the story is talked manly from the +Harry’s point of view, and (fortunately) Hermione is not here to +take Harry’s glory (like in some movies, ehm … WHAT? My grammar +checker and later even search online persuades me that “movie” is +Americanish, not a word in the proper English; but saying “moving +pictures” feels weird, oh well; oh! “films” is correct!). Then +there is in my opinion brilliant third year with werevolves, and +then suddenly the unity of the story goes down the drain. + +Suddenly, the end of the second years passes us, and in the +chapter 62 the book completely changes and not for more concise. +Suddenly, Carrows are running all over the Europe, Edward +Greyson runs from Australia to Siberia, and there are plenty of +completely unrelated stories which are competing for our +interest. It is obvious that the author fallen for the trap of +superhero literature and needs even badder anti-hero than the +previous one, so in the end there are four (or five?) +supervillians of the Voldermorts calibre being fought by +additional Grand Sorceres (mentioned Edward Grayson is one of +them), but it certainly doesn’t explain why the story changed in +its character so much. + +Moreover, in order to introduce these additional characters, +there are plenty of smaller stories which are completely +unrelated to the main one. Some of them would work very well as +independent stories. For example, in the first part of the +Chapter 75, Edward Grayson cuts through the jungle to find +a muggle-born wizard, which could (and should) very well stand +out on its own as a single-shot. If Professor McGonagall think +her task to inform muggle-borns is difficult, then she should try +to find her muggle-borns in the jungle of South America with +machete, tropic helmet and all that jazz. It could be a lovely +one-shot even better because of its non-European location, which +is so rare, but I wonder whether it contributes anything good to +the main story of the Animagus. + +Another similarly problematic story is the chapter 83, “The +Battle of Gisenyi”. Again, it is perfectly written short story of +the magical battle, which would perfectly stand on its own as +a one-shot. Moreover, contrary to the previous one, this one has +an obvious important function for the whole story. One problem +with the persona of Albus Dumbledore is that everybody talks +about him as a biggest wizard walking the England (or Scotland), +the only one Voldermort is afraid of, but we almost never see +this magical power in practice. The only exception in books is +The Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and even that is +rather brief and I am afraid not enough. This is one very few +exceptions where the films are better than the books just by +their nature, it is very obvious there that battle is in fact the +most advanced magical duel of whole series. It seems to me that +this power of Albus Dumbledore is one place where Ms. Rowling +seriously failed in the task “Show, don’t tell”. + +So, I welcome very much that there was an occasion for Albus +Dumbledore to show his real power, I am just unsure whether it +was worthy to break whole continuity of the story for that. +Couldn’t this be just part of the current chapter 84, with +Hermione reading and explaining to their parents article in *The +Daily Prophet* (**NOT** from Rita Skeeter, just some random East +African correspondent, or English Hitwizard sent with ICW +forces)? It would convey the message as well, and kept the story +more united. + +These are just two cases of what I believe would help to make +reading of this story a way more homogeneous and I believe more +enjoyable. .. _`Classical Unities`: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_unities + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_unities + +.. _`Strangers at Drakeshaugh`: + http://www.siye.co.uk/viewstory.php?sid=129036 + +.. _`James and Me`: + http://www.siye.co.uk/viewstory.php?sid=130180 + +.. _`The Accidental Animagus`: + https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9863146/ |